[3] The commander Shamil Basayev referred to the shahidkas as a part of force of his suicide bombers called the Riyad-us Saliheen Brigade of Martyrs.
[13] These attacks methods include detonating bombs on trucks, cars, usage of explosive devices, or using suicide belts or bags.
[13] Thus, jihadist ideologies provides this medium for Chechen women who experienced extreme post traumatic experiences thus transforming them into Black Widows.
[13] Combined with personal trauma, cultural responsibility for social justice, and extreme religious viewpoints to take revenge, these factors mold Chechen women to become Black Widows.
[13] There have been claims by Yulia Yuzik, a Russian journalist and author of Brides of Allah,[15] that many of the women who have been sold by their parents are used as shahidkas, while others have been kidnapped or tricked.
[17] On the other hand, independent journalists including Robert W. Kurz and Charles K. Bartles reject this view, stating that in most cases female Chechen suicide bombers do not fit this model.
[16][18][19] Additionally, some Black Widows have brothers or close relatives who were killed in one of the two Chechen wars between Russia and Islamist rebels since 1994 or in clashes with Russian-backed forces.
[6][20] Black Widows may be driven by the idea of Chechnya gaining independence from Russia or they may have joined the terrorist movement because they were brainwashed and needed a sense of belonging when they were in a state of political turmoil.
[22] This also suggests that Black Widows may be driven by ideals about religion or may be out of touch with reality, and brainwashed by the men in their lives to join the cause.
[21] The media depicts the female suicide bombers in two main ways, as motivated by the deaths of men in her life or as in a situation of hopelessness where she is forced into terrorism to get her voice heard.
[21] Media coverage tends to show the female terrorists motives as emotional, such as due to loss of a relative, rather than ideological or political, such as gaining independence from Russia.
[5] A common media narrative about the Chechen Black Widows is that they joined due to family connections; because they were following men or avenging the deaths of their husbands.